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Colts showing interest in Ezra Cleveland


coffeedrinker

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Saw a tweet on the .com forum about Ezra Cleveland.  I have been looking at him since I saw his combine numbers and watching as much game film (not highlights, full games) as I can find.  here are my thoughts.

 

I will say, his athleticism is every bit as good as you would expect by seeing his running numbers (40, SS and 3cone).  He moves really well, at all levels, even saw him chase down a LB or DB after a fumble in the FSU game (the guy stumbled) but he was close enough to take advantage of the stumble.  He also does a great job of working with his guard to pass off defenders and get to a target at the 2nd level.

 

The thing about his numbers that is misleading is the 30 reps on the bench press.  He does not play strong at all, does not extend and lock out his arms when engaged and lacks the strength to redirect edge rushers with just his arms.

 

To make a comparison to a Colts player, he reminds me a lot of Le"Raven Clark.  Some may consider that a bad thing, but he is another that, when he came into the league he had all the athleticism and agility in the world but lack the sand in his pants to stop an NFL rusher.  But last year during the preseason and in the 1st few games of 2018, Clark, IMO, showed he has learned how to do that.

 

All that being said he is an excellent 3rd or 4th round prospect and he may be able to fill in for a few plays but I think it will take a year or two of coaching for him to learn how to translate his immense physical gifts into leverage and strength on the playing field.

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2 hours ago, coffeedrinker said:

Saw a tweet on the .com forum about Ezra Cleveland.  I have been looking at him since I saw his combine numbers and watching as much game film (not highlights, full games) as I can find.  here are my thoughts.

 

I will say, his athleticism is every bit as good as you would expect by seeing his running numbers (40, SS and 3cone).  He moves really well, at all levels, even saw him chase down a LB or DB after a fumble in the FSU game (the guy stumbled) but he was close enough to take advantage of the stumble.  He also does a great job of working with his guard to pass off defenders and get to a target at the 2nd level.

 

The thing about his numbers that is misleading is the 30 reps on the bench press.  He does not play strong at all, does not extend and lock out his arms when engaged and lacks the strength to redirect edge rushers with just his arms.

 

To make a comparison to a Colts player, he reminds me a lot of Le"Raven Clark.  Some may consider that a bad thing, but he is another that, when he came into the league he had all the athleticism and agility in the world but lack the sand in his pants to stop an NFL rusher.  But last year during the preseason and in the 1st few games of 2018, Clark, IMO, showed he has learned how to do that.

 

All that being said he is an excellent 3rd or 4th round prospect and he may be able to fill in for a few plays but I think it will take a year or two of coaching for him to learn how to translate his immense physical gifts into leverage and strength on the playing field.

Thanks for the heads up. I had not watched any film on him and I just did some quick viewing. Nice quick feet, good stance while backing up, excellent frame size, but perhaps not a grinder. I don't know his injury history, and character profile. Do you think he would last till the 3rd or 4th?

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I do think he would last because there are some questions about his playing strength and his desire/work ethic.  Now granted, I don't know if there is any validity to the desire/work ethic but I could tell by watching him that his play strength is not at NFL level.  His bench press shows that it is not a lack of strength but more a lack of getting his whole body working together to create that play strength.  Some coaches will take him off their board because of that (mainly man blocking schemes) and some coaches will think they can teach him that.

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